a fateful meeting indeed (oneshot)
by Jaketheripper
Summary: A short story based on the beginning of my favorite D&D campaign in my friend Blake's backroom the story of the heroes of Phandalin, which went on a lot longer than I believe our DM thought it should originally. I will follow up these stories with several of our adventures in the form of chaptered stories. Then I will repost the LOTR story because continuity is key.


Blake's Backroom D&D presents:

A fateful meeting indeed.

By Jaketheripper.

It was a cold, dark night outside the settlement of Phandalin as the circus rolled in, the wagons coming to a halt, "MOVE IT, MEN!" Shouted the ringleader, sending the sturdy, swarthy workmen to gather various supplies that would help raise the tent.

Peony Avahlier peeked out of the Ringleader's cart, she is a beautiful ginger halfling with iridescent green eyes and a figure that would make human women jealous, though she was usually clad in a skintight jumpsuit. Being the circus's main balancing act, she was currently clad in a negligee with an iron collar latched around her neck.

A fortnight ago, the circus she worked in had changed hands, and the new ringleader had taken to obsessing over her, going so far as to steal her undergarments.

Thinking it would make him stop obsessing, she committed to one night of passion, only to discover that he was a man of cruel tastes and would not let her leave after the fact.

Seeing this was no longer a safe place for her, She meant to escape the circus, and leave her new "master" to his lonely fantasies.

She got beyond the line of carts only to feel herself be yanked back! The ringleader's hand around what looked to be a chain made of glowing red energy, "You can't leave! I've made sure of that!"

"You're insane if you think I'll stay!" Yells Peony, her Negligee slipping ever so slightly to reveal her freckled shoulder as she clutched angrily at the iron collar, "you have no CHOICE!" growls the Ringleader, yanking the magic chain, causing her to fall on her face with a choked yell!

Suddenly the gurgling sound of drunk song reached their ears, they both paused to see a white Dragonborn in a cleric's robe, ear fins flared, mouth spewing cold mist, steps uneven and staggering as he passed by the circus, "Oh Ba-ha-mut, greatest of gods...send Into me...er...unto me...yea...send unto me your looove! All will be forgiven in your sight, as in the heavens aboooove!"

The Ringleader was so taken aback by the sight of the cleric that he dropped the magic chain, it vanished and Peony scrambled towards the drunken cleric, "HELP! HELP!"

The Dragonborn turned with a slurred "Hwa?" Before Peony was once more yanked back by the chain, "I SAID YOU CAN'T LEAVE!"

The Dragonborn's eyes widened, "hey...hey that's slaver magic!" The Cleric's ear fins folded down in a sign of aggression, "Wha...whash goin on?" Peony pulled at the collar, "please...he's been keeping me, prisoner!"

"She's a criminal, my friend! Pay her no mind!" Grunted the Ringleader as he pulled her closer.

One of the Dragonborn's ear fins raised again as he seemed to be listening to someone, "hmm...ok...I see..." and with that, the Dragonborn pulled out a small mace, advancing on the pair, "what are you doing? You drunk idiot, she is at fault, not me!"

The Dragonborn hiccupped, raising his mace, "Bahamut sees all, and he sees your crimes, w-wicked one!"

The Ringleader dropped the magic chain and bolted back towards the line of carts, only to have his rear smitten by a beam of light!

Peony sobbed as she crawled to her savior's feet, hugging his ankles, "thank you...thank you..."

The Cleric picked her up, "hey...it's gonna be...ouhkay...ish fine...my name's Gallend...what's yours?"

She tried to cover her now mud-caked body, still in her very revealing Negligee, "Peony...Peony Ahvalier..." Gallend chuckled, "'s nice to meet you! Let's get back to Phandalin before the...fog...closes in..." he tapers off as he realizes that the fog he just mentioned was now all around them.

"Fuck..." grunts Gallend, "you're...basically Naked, why don't you put thish on..." the Cleric removed his robe, revealing a Loin Cloth, handing the robe to a shocked Peony, "you...don't have to.."

Gallend waved his hands, "ah! Shshsh, you're a rape victim...lemme get rid of that collar."

He touched the collar, it glowed gold for a second, then fell away with a thud on the ground, "Now put on that robe and we can start towards...town..." he turned in a circle, "damn..."

Peony points back up the road, the over large robe making her look even smaller than she was, "I saw you come from this way...let's start in that direction."

Gallend nodded, "yes, YES lets..."

As they took their first steps, Gallend lost his balance and fell over, "OUFF!"

Peony gasped and ran to her Savior's side, "Are you ok?"

Gallend sat up, "I tripped over an...arm?"

The two turned to look at what seemed to be a massive robotic arm sticking out of the ground, "what...is it a statue?" Peony hid behind Gallend as he touched the dirt-covered arm, "Nah...it's a Warforged..."

Peony's eyes widened as she saw the three-fingered jointed hand, dark dark iron from what she could see, remembering the stories of undying machine warriors from across the sea. "why is it under there?"

Gallend shook his head, "no clue...but We should help him."

Peony looked panicked, "HELP him!? What if he's evil?"

Gallend shook his head, "Bahamut says he's a good guy..." the halfling raised her eyebrow at Gallend, "you speak to Bahamut? How do you do that?"

Gallend chuckled with a hiccup, "I can do it while I'm drunk...back up I'm about to fix this bad boy."

Peony watched Gallend's hands glow as he laid them on the mechanical arm, the machinery losing its rust and beginning to struggle, suddenly the ground exploded around the hand, revealing the form of a monstrous 8 foot robotic soldier, the thing stood out of the crater it had just made, shaking mud from itself as it looked around with glowing blue-green eyes, "Who are you?" asked the figure in a deep voice in a detached form of curiosity, this Warforged was made out of black iron and charwood, the iron making up the outermost parts of the machine's body whilst the charwood is visible beneath in jointed areas such as the neck, elbows, knees, and joints of the fingers. It wore a tattered looking white cloak with a hood that still draped over the mechanical head, a satchel made of whale skin was slung across its torso on a strap that looked to have been repaired many times.

Gallend stood unsteadily, "My name is...Gallend...Gallend Gokkan! and this...is Peony Avahlier, we found you buried and I figured you'd like out..."

The Warforged studied them, the blank noseless face with it's unblinking jewel eyes and it's crude but shapely jawline making it very difficult to determine what it was thinking, "My name is Fadron Bulkhead, when I went offline, I was on the run from my creator, I think I fell into a hole...and now...I am here."

Gallend shook his head, sobering up a bit, "You have a last name? usually, Warforged only have single name designations..." Fadron nodded, "My mistress made me for a special purpose...it's quite humiliating so I won't speak of it here...where are we?"

Gallend yawned, "near the settlement town of Phandalin, where I'm part of the church...we should head back...but for this mist!" Fadron studied the thick mist and held out his hands, "This should only take a little bit."

Gallend and Peony watched in awe as four stone cylinders covered in glowing blue runes protruded from each of Fadron's forearms, they began crackling with electricity as he blasted the fog with a witchbolt! the fog slowly began to thin out as the cylinders recede inside the Warforged again, "You're a mage?"

Fadron shook his head, "Eldritch knight, I was made to fight and do magic...but I seem to have lost my shield and sword..."

Gallend gives Fadron a thumbs up, "I'm sure we can get you those things in town! come on, now I can see the way we can get there unhindered!"

As Gallend starts marching back towards town, Fadron grabs him, pulling him back as a fireball blazes past him! Peony screams as the ringleader saunters over, holding a spellbook, "I did not say she could leave!"

Peony hides behind Fadron's massive legs, "That's the man Gallend saved me from..."

Fadron cocked his head, "Yes, I see, pardon me a minute." Fadron began to walk towards the Ringleader, who's eyes widened at the approaching wall of metal and wood, "You should leave before any harm befalls you." Fadron warned, his arms once more producing those cylinders with the glowing runes, this time, however, the runes were red, "She is MY property! she belongs to me!"

Fadron's eyes flashed orange as he touched his hands together, then pointing them palm out towards the ringleader, "Nobody should belong to anybody!" and with that, Fadron used burning hands! the Ringleader screamed as he was overtaken by flame, he fell to the ground with a pained gasp, hurriedly taking off his coat, going for his spellbook before realizing that it too was on fire, "BLAST!"

The Ringmaster stood only to be grabbed around the throat by Fadron, "GHAAK!" was all the portly man could utter as Fadron squeezed, the man slowly turning blue as Fadron looked into his eyes.

Finally, the Ringmaster stopped moving and Fadron dropped him, walking back to the other two, Gallend trying to console Peony who was now clinging to his legs, "I thank you for releasing me, if you are not opposed, I should like to repay you by protecting you to the best of my ability if that is what you want."

Peony jumped from her sprawl to hug his massive leg, "YES! please..." she let go, her face and ears red as she attempted to be aloof.

Gallend shrugged, "my church could always use another guard, you'd be surprised how many things get stolen in the night..."

Fadron nodded, "then that is what I will do."

With that, the trio started back to Phandalin, not an idea in their heads that their paths would soon diverge from the small hamlet.

but that's another story.


End file.
